SB 219, as currently written, contains “no exemptions for long term care facilities run by religious institutions who integrate their beliefs about gender into their policies and practices.” It also bears similarities to Canada’s recent legislation that makes “improper” gender pronoun use a hate crime.

Of all the corporations helping fund Equality California’s assault on the 1st Amendment, AT&T is especially complicit. Not only is AT&T listed as a “statewide sponsor” of Equality California, but the telecommunications giant was a donor to Sen. Wiener’s 2016 re-election campaign. AT&T also donated to Sen. Ricardo Lara, another endorsee of Equality California and the sponsor of 2016’s SB 1146.

One year ago, conservatives were able defeat key provisions in Equality California’s that would have undermined religious liberty protections for religious schools. SB 219 is yet another fight over the same issues. Greg Burt of the California Family Council says:

How can you believe in free speech, but think the government can compel people to use certain pronouns when talking to others?

Compelled speech is not free speech. Can the government compel a newspaper to use certain pronouns that aren’t even in the dictionary? Of course not, or is that coming next?

Those proposing this bill are saying, ‘If you disagree with me about my view of gender, you are discriminating against me’… This is not tolerance. This is not love. This is not mutual respect. True tolerance tolerates people with different views. We need to treat each other with respect, but respect is a two-way street. It is not respectful to threaten people with punishment for having sincerely held beliefs that differ from your own.

Ultimately, AT&T and the other sponsors of Equality California are funding that very threat.